• Reason not to expand the PMRF • Dunlap letter • Walk, Kaua‘i Reason not to expand the PMRF The PMRF’s publicly stated reason for a lease expansion is based on false and misleading characterizations of federal regulations and military
• Reason not to expand the PMRF
• Dunlap letter
• Walk, Kaua‘i
Reason not to expand the PMRF
The PMRF’s publicly stated reason for a lease expansion is based on false and misleading characterizations of federal regulations and military necessities.
The Navy says it wants to take control of the pumps and ditches around the PMRF to assure the security of the existing base (and incidentally save Westside farmers some money).
Those pumps are now operated by the state of Hawai‘i to make dry land of what would otherwise be a seasonally brackish wetland. The state passes the pumping costs to the farmers who lease that land. This runs about $600,000 a year, or $100 an acre.
The PMRF says it can’t take care of those pumps if they are not on federally leased land. Therefore they must have a long-term lease on 300 acres of additional land. So the farmers are eager for the PMRF land grab.
This reasoning is bass-ackwards. What the Navy really wants is 300 more acres of the land (including the pumping operations). The farmers are simply being bribed to support PMRF expansion plans. If the PMRF really wants to secure pump operations and help farmers it could simply pay the state fair value for the 2,000 acres it leases now. How about starting at $300 an acre per year. That would keep pumps running and Kaua‘i farmers’ noses above water.
The PMRF is in the business of improving our ability to wage war. That’s about the biggest business in America. On Kaua‘i that means billions of dollars for corporations like Raytheon, Verizon, General Dynamics and ITT. That is what this is really all about.
Yes, the PMRF means jobs for hundreds or even thousands of Kaua‘i residents. It also means a lot more oversized SUVs on the road, and a lot more big plasma TVs flashing Fox News Terror Alerts. In the end it means an end to Kaua‘i as we know it. You might as well be living in Houston or Buffalo.
The militarization of Kaua‘i is only beginning. The Army and Air Force want a C-17 Base to support a Stryker Armored Brigade in Hawai‘i, and Kaua‘i’s Westside is looking mighty good.
Why are you on the Garden Island? Isn’t it because you live in a peaceful place as close to paradise as it gets? Do you really want Barking Sands to be the Pearl Harbor of the 21st century?
On Monday, May 24, at Convention Hall, the BLNR will have the second, and last, public meeting on this PMRF expansion. Please attend and let your views be known.
Juan Wilson
Hanapepe
Dunlap letter
Regarding Mr. Dunlap’s letter to The Garden Island about same-sex marriage; he writes the aloha solution works without “giving social approval to homosexual behavior or relationships.” That one sentence pretty well closes the deal on bigotry of the sneaky, mealy-mouthed variety. This smacks of the spinster sitting in her parlor full of antique horsehair couches covered with antimacassars while she clucks away at those ne’er-do-well people who don’t allow their folks to arrange their marriages with ‘the right family connections’ and claiming such folks will never amount to a hill of beans. Why, I swan. What is the world coming to?
So, now, I ask Mr. Dunlap, the writer of this underhanded attempt to sound all conciliatory and godly, where in the constitution does it mention the words (or even the idea of “giving social approval to…behavior?” Where in the bible does it teach, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you unless you don’t like the person they are dating?”
No, no. Aloha does not mean nobody gets left behind unless I want them to be left behind because I don’t like what color they are or who they live with.
Try again, Mr. Dunlap. But this time, think with your mind, not whatever you were using when you wrote this strange, garbled message.
Brent Kincaid
Lihu‘e
Walk, Kaua‘i
This is an open invitation to everyone on Kaua‘i (including visitors).
There is no cost to join this activity, no dues or other expenses whatsoever. There are, instead, real benefits — financial benefits, health benefits, and social benefits for those who take part.
The venture is called W.A.L.K. (Walk Around Lovely Kaua‘i). There are no meetings, and no paper work is involved. Individuals can do this whenever they like, and are also free to form their own informal groups to participate together. (If the idea catches on, we might print up some T-shirts — and, who knows, maybe eventually Kaua‘i could become known as the island where everyone walks a lot!
The plan is very simple. Since gasoline is so expensive, since our streets are filled with too many cars, since air pollution and noise increase daily, and since everyone needs exercise to maintain good health, why not do something about it? All one needs to do is make the simple decision to cut back on driving and walk whenever possible!
This is more than just taking that early-morning walk around the neighborhood. Depending on where one lives, why not start walking to the store, walking to the library, walking to the post office, etc.? Why not walk to a nearby restaurant for lunch, rather than driving there?
It is amazing to me how people have gotten into the mindset that the only way to get from Point A to Point B is to crank up the car! If I can walk to a store in 15 minutes, and if my packages are not too heavy, why should I drive there? Even if I’m going a long distance — to the beach, to a shopping center, to a friend’s house, etc. — I can usually find a place to park and walk the last 15 minutes or so!
So, what do you say, Kaua‘i?
Barbara Elmore
Lihu‘e
